The Reminder
by Tball66
Summary: In the ashes of a failed rebellion, something will rise from it. Before it was a celebrated event it was a grim reminder of our failed revolt. A reminder of the pain, suffering, death, and defeat. This is the 1st Annual Hunger Games.
1. Defeat

The Beginning/Ending of the Dark Days

How could this happen? Thirteen districts versus one Capitol. Statistically speaking, we should have won. Even with Crescent City as our secret number fourteen we still lost. But when is anything kept secret from the capitol. Even if Crescent City was kept a secret, would we still have had a chance at the rebellion?

Questions that would never be answered ran through my head as I was forced to walk to the aircraft that was to take me away from Crescent City. Head hung; I walked in silence with the rest of kids. Kids who were now orphans because most their parents had been taken as prisoners and then killed by the Capitol.

Many of the younger children were crying, since they knew that their fate meant imprisonment or death. But I didn't. Only because I knew that for some sick twisted reason, the Capitol wanted us alive. If they wanted us dead they could have obliterated all of Crescent City like District 13 or publically slaughtered us with some of our parents. But with the Capitol being alive can sometimes be worse than death. They were always discovering new ways to make death seem more appealing than life.

Glancing forward to check on our progress towards the aircraft, I took one last look at the place that I had called home for the past few years.

High green mountains circled around the bay until the peaks dipped down into the ocean. The water, like the shadow of a moon, was slowly moving up the beach from the ever rising tide. This gave people the impression that you were standing a crescent moon with the shadows slowly consuming it. Between the shoreline of the ocean and the base of the mountain was Crescent City.

In this city was where the Commanders of the war held the most important and secretive meetings. Although it started it out as an outpost for them it soon flourished into an ever growing city.

Since the Capitol had never seen or heard of Crescent City, it was clean of all of their hidden cameras and microphones. Far away from the Capitol, it became a refuge from the war, while aiding the rebellion at the same time.

But it wasn't just a place for creating and fueling the war, it was also a safeguard against it. As the war progressed on, many commanders and captains families became the targets of the Capitol. Using them as bate to get what they wanted from the Rebels. So in order to protect their families, the Rebels created the Defense Center. It was a place where the targeted children could live in safety from their predators. And if our parents wanted them to be, they could be trained for the war. But for many kids like me, we would never be able to use those skills we learned in the DC. Instead we would now be the Capitols new science experiments.

They could disfigure your body or cut out your tongues, but they particularly favored experimenting on something that you couldn't see… your mind. Erasing your memory, causing hallucinations, or poisoning your mind to fight for the other side was something that the Capitol loved to do. The worst part was that they knew how to make their patient keep just a sliver of reality. Making them so confused on what was real and what was not. Usually it would end up in the patient going insane and then taking their own life.

Even though the kids from the DC hadn't even participated in the war, I knew that it wouldn't stop the Capitol from experimenting on us. I can almost feel their needles stabbing into my arm making me feel like I'm losing myself. Trying to grasp onto something for me to stay sane. I try to think of something that has always been mine, something that would anchor me to reality. Then it hits me, my name.

"Clayton Jay Astor!"

Hearing my name snaps me back to my current situation and not the scenario playing through my head. Looking around to see who called my name, I step out of line to find that we have arrived at the aircraft.

"Clayton Jay Astor!" repeats the unknown voice but more irritated this time.

"Here," I say.

"Well don't stand there like you don't know how to walk and get over here!"

A Peacekeeper then shoves me towards the aircraft so they can register me.

"Age?"

"16."

"Hair color is dark brown, eye color is blue, and height is about 6'1, complexion is fit," she pauses and then looks up at me.

"You're done here. Grab the ladder," she says irritably.

I thought that the Capitol was about politeness and manners? Before the rebellion they would always say how mannerless we were.

Walking away from the obviously disgruntled Peacekeeper I head over to the ladder dangling from the hovering aircraft and put my hand on the ladder. An electric current immediately freezes me in place and starts to pull me up away from the future I wanted, to the future that the Capitol wanted for me. Punishment and revenge.

**A/N**

**Well this is my first time doing this! i feel a little stupid doing this because i have no idea how to upload this stuff haha but anyways i hope you guys like the story and if there are any flaws or you just want to comment then feel free to review! I will try to upload at least every two weeks just because school is coming to a close so it means tests, ap tests, tournaments and what not. but if there are a ton of reviews like first time a ton (5:) haha) then i will try to upload sooner!**


	2. Flashback

When I reach the inside of the massive aircraft the doors beneath me shut. I am then greeted by even more Peacekeepers. One of them blindfolds me, while the other pats me down and then cuffs me. Prodding me with their guns, I begin to walk to who knows where. Extra Peacekeepers, blindfolded, and cuffed? The Capitol must have been tipped off that we were little assassins.

As they escort me to what I presumed to be the group holding cells, I slowly form a plan to possibly take over the aircraft. This wouldn't be that hard since in the DC we practiced many drills like aircraft takeovers or disarming bodyguards. So taking over the ship would be secondhand nature to kids, all they needed was someone to snap them into action and the sabotage would take off from there. All I needed to do was to remind everyone who we were fighting. Because we all knew that Peacekeepers were the Capitols pawns in the war. They were just men who were given guns and told to follow orders.

The only thing that was so powerful about the Peacekeepers was the fact that they outnumbered us six to one. And they were easily replaceable. Sometimes in the war my dad would always tell me that fighting an army of Peacekeepers was like trying to stop a river. No matter how many people you killed, another man would always be there to take his place. So the only way to win was to find a way to stop them from coming or as my dad would say "Dam it." Unlike my dad I wouldn't have to cut the power or blow up hovercrafts to stop the endless supply of Peacekeepers. The Peacekeepers were doing a swell job of making their own doom. By keeping us all in the same ship and a flying ship none the less, how exactly are you supposed to call for back-up thousands of feet in the air?

Smirking to myself I thought of how flawless my plan was; when I was stopped by the guards. Hearing the electronic keypad beeping I would have to attack soon since I would be in an inescapable cell in just a few seconds.

I hear the heavy bolts in the doors unlock and a rush of air glide past my face.

One of the Peacekeeper's then pulls me over closer to him and starts to unlock my handcuffs. I listen to him fumble with his keys for a moment before the jingling stops. I wait for the click that would tell me to attack.

"Leave him cuffed."

I jump from the suddenly broken silence. But it wasn't that fact that someone had broken the silence, it was because I knew that voice. My blindfold is then ripped off and my eyes adjust to what lies before me.

But instead of registering what is going on right now, my thoughts go back few years.

* * *

It was the day before we had been ushered into Crescent City. I was ten at the time and was living in District 4 with my mom and brother. We had received a message from our dad telling us that we were going to be relocated to a place safe from the war, away from the Capitol. My brother and I assumed that somewhere safe from the war probably meant an underground bunker. Sad about leaving the oceans of District 4 we snuck out of our guarded house on the shoreline in the middle of the night to take one last swim.

As we walked to the ocean that was a about a hundred yards away, it felt like the night had been planned for us. The waves calm and the water warm, and a full moon above making it the perfect night for a swim. We swam around for hours. And for once it felt like we weren't in a war at all and that the oceans waves were slowly washing its wounds away from us.

When we began to feel our energy wane away from us, we swam to a nearby sandbar to relax. As I lay on the ground I try to soak up everything around me. The quiet sound of waves hitting the shore, the gritty feeling of the sand against my skin, and the warm water lapping at my feet. I look up in the sky to take a look at the stars that I might not see again. I make a wish to the stars that all will turn out well in the war. I see a shooting star and hope that it means that it will come true. Watching the star fade away, my eyes start to feel heavy and I slowly succumb to sleep.

The sound of gunshots wakes me. I sit straight up to see that many of the houses on the shoreline are on fire. I notice someone running towards my house and realize that it is my brother. Diving into the water I frantically swim to the shoreline and make a mad dash back home.

Upon entering my yard the first thing in notice is the dead guards. Panic fills me and I throw open the door and search the house. Screaming for my brother or my mother I run through the rooms hoping to find them. The only things I find in the rooms is just broken glass and everything thrown on the floor. I get to the front of the house and notice that the door has been ripped off its hinges. I run through it when I am grabbed by someone.

Screaming, I immediately try to fight my way out of their grasp but they cover my mouth with their hand. I then look up to face my killer, only to see my mother. Tears began to pour out of my eyes as she holds me.

"It's ok Clayton. You're safe. The Peacekeepers are gone," she says. "Clayton you need to stay in the house and don't come out till I come back ok?" Hurt that she would even think to leave me I begin to protest. "But I want to stay with you!" "Clayton. I need to go out and find your brother."

"Promise me that you will come back?"

Tears begin to form in her eyes, "I promise."

She then kisses me on the cheek and runs down toward the town center. I watch her as she slowly disappears into the city and sit down waiting for her to come back for me.

As I sit there my mind keeps spinning on the reality of things. I always knew that someday the Peacekeepers would come but I thought that as long as I had my mom or dad or brother I would be safe. And now I didn't have any of them. Confused and hurt my mind slowly went into shock and everything began blur together.

Looking all around my mind tried to separate what was real and what wasn't. Memories of things that had happened began to make their way into what was going on right now. Was my neighbor having a party for his birthday? Is that why they are having a fire? Why is my brother running up the road? Why does he keep asking me where mom is? She's in the house getting ready for the party… or is she?

I start to think of all the things that I have done. We got the letter from dad, then me and Canyon went to the ocean, we were attacked, and I went back to the house to look for mom. I found her and she told me to stay at the house. I'm at the house! But why doesn't anything look like it? The building I am by is too tall to be the house. Why is nothing making sense?

Trying to understand what was happening I feel something shake my shoulder. I look up to see my brother. His lips are moving but all I am hearing is echoes. Slowly I began to hear him.

"Clayton!" He's saying my name but I don't know what he wants. "Clayton! Why are you here? Where's mom?" Just talking about her brings me back.

"She went to the city to find you." I say.

"We are in the city, she went back to the house to get you what are you doing here?," he asks me.

My gaze moves away from him and I look around to see that during my stupor that I have wandered into the city. But it isn't the once beautiful city I remember. The usually crowd filled streets are now filled with rubble. And the tall elegant buildings are now either on fire or crumbling down. Which I thought was pretty ironic because for people called Peacekeepers they sure do a lot of damage. Turning back to my brother, he looks at me like he wants me to say something but I don't know what to tell him.

"I… I don't know." I mutter.

"Stay here!" he threatens, "and wait for the rebels to come pick you up and take you to a safe location. I will come back to you and..." His last words are cut off by the sound of gunshots and people screaming. I look towards a crowd of people running away from mob of white and towards us.

My brother grabs my hand and takes off with me in the direction of our house. I can tell that I'm dragging him down because within seconds the crowd has engulfed. My hand begins to lose its grip and I try to hold on. Despite my effort to hold on my hand slips out of my Canyon's. Between the darkness of the night and the crowd I can't see a thing.

Running with the crowd I call out his name, "Canyon! Canyon!" But it's no use. The crowd swallows my cries and I am left with no response. Frantically searching for him I dart between people checking to find him. I keep calling out for him even though I know it is pointless. But I just hope that he will maybe hear me.

Suddenly the screams and gunshots are drained out by the sound of an explosion. And the night sky becomes day for a few seconds. For a few seconds I see the horror on people's faces as they watch part of town blown to pieces. It was the part of town that we were headed towards, and it was also where my house had been.

The crowd slows to a stop and a million things begin to happen at once. The Peacekeepers catch up to us and begin either shooting people or taking them prisoner. As people begin to drop by me, either from being shot or for protection, a group of rebels descend from the sky. Some of them shooting at the Peacekeepers and the others start grabbing civilians then ascending up into the aircraft.

With the sky is still lit up from the explosion instead of heading to safety with the rebels, I continued to search through the crowd for my brother.

"Canyon!" I yelled hoping that he would hear it.

"Clayton!"

My heart fills with excitement and my ears find where his voice is coming from and I run to it. Jumping over rubble and bodies I make my way as fast as I could to him. The crowd starts to thin out as I keep going towards his voice.

"Clayton!"

This time I could hear the panic in his voice and I push myself to run harder. As I broke through the crowd I scan all around from where his voice was coming from. I climb up a pile of rocks to give me a better look over everyone. All I see is chaos. People crying over their loved ones and others fighting for their lives. I don't look at the bodies on the ground to give me hope that he is still alive.

I then see the familiar brown mess of hair less than twenty feet away and I take off for it. But my path to him gets blocked by something that I normally would have loved to see.

"Canyon!" I screamed out as the rebel scooped me up and places me on the ladder freezing me in place. I see Canyon look my way as I begin to rise. It takes him a second before he finally finds me. But it was a second too late.

I watch in horror as two Peacekeepers tackle him and are wrestling him into some handcuffs. I try to move or escape the current gluing me to the ladder but it is useless. I flinch every time they punch or kick him. It suddenly becomes bright and I can tell that we are in the aircraft even if my head is pointed to the massacre below. As I watch my brother trying to fight his way out, the floor begins to close below us. Before it is all the way shut I see the Peacekeepers put handcuffs on him and drag him away. Probably to kill him, no I hope they kill him. I would rather have him die then face the horrors from the Capitol.

The floor closes and everything goes quiet. My limbs regain motion in them but I just let myself drop to the ground. I knew I would never see Canyon again.

* * *

Looking up one more time I checked to see if what I saw was real. Sitting in the room in front of me is someone I wouldn't have dreamed in seeing in years. He looked almost exactly the same since I had last seen him just a little aged. Tall, light brown hair, and with the exception of his copper eyes it was impossible to not tell that sitting in front of me was my brother, Canyon.

* * *

**A/N**

**So heres another chapter. and im so sorry for the ridculous long wait cough cough 3 weeks but i finally got it! thanks for the 2 reviews even if one of them was in chinnese or jappanese:) i only have two days of school left so hopefully i will get more done but i had it almost all the way done and then my computer crashed so im starting over from scratch but it will still be just as good and probably more specific. oh and i changed the eye color of clayton because it reminded me to much of finnick and thats why i changed the first chapter**


	3. Reconvene

"Surprised?" he says with a smirk. "Surprised that you're seeing my face on me, rather than on a tombstone?" he chuckles hoping to get a laugh out of me. Pausing for a a response he gets none. "But who am I kidding you're smarter than that. You saw me get dragged away from those filthy rebels. I bet you're surprised that I still look like myself and not…"

"What are you doing here?" cutting him off. I knew it was what he wanted me to ask. He was toying with me, as if he wanted me to ask him what was going on.

"Bad manners!" he laughs. "It doesn't matter though all we are is just District 4 scum." Seeing no emotional response in me, his face returns to a smirk. "I am now a General for a Capitol. After the Battle of the Seas, and yes they did name the sabotage, I was carried away to the Capitol. Where I was going to be tested on and then slaughtered like a cow. Horrifying, yet as a Rebel at the time I deserved it. I admit I was frightened, so I tried to escape but the Capitol was just too great and they caught me again. But thanks to my little stunt it got me attention from President Drask himself. Who confronted me and even praised me for perseverance. So he requested that I be trained and then put in the war. After a little rehabilitation and realizing which side I truly belonged on, I became one of the most celebrated soldiers. I then make a big victory and I am then put in to the position you see me as today."

Just hearing him I know that this definitely wasn't the same brother I had seen fighting the Peacekeepers. Even though he looked almost exactly the same, it was like someone ripped the skin of him and placed it onto some Capitol worshiping fool. As I took a closer look just to make sure that the man sitting in front of me was my brother I started to notice differences from the teenager I last saw. His eyes were filled fire that you would only find in a mad mans. His normally happy face had been replaced by suspicious smile. His whole body posture and new persona you could tell he had been in a war. But he wasn't just a man in a war; he was now a man who had learned to live for war.

"Now I didn't have you dragged in here just because I wanted to show you my new suit or to reminisce about our childhood. You're here because I believe that you deserve choice. You are still family, Rebel or not. Which is why I am giving you the choice to either live in a prison cell for the rest of your life slowly tortured to death as a Rebel or you could come and join me to live in the luxury of the Capitol as a soldier."

"Why would I ever do that?" I glare at him just for even thinking that I would switch over to the side that killed my mom.

"Because I know your future," he simply says.

"Everyone knows my future. Be shut in a cell and then wait die."

"Do you honestly think that you are going to get it that easy?" he laughs like I have told a funny joke. Even when my brother is talking I can tell that some ways of life in the Capitol have imprinted on him. "Just because you guys haven't turned eighteen doesn't mean that you won't suffer any less. You are still a Rebel and that is all that matters." As fast as he began to show emotion it immediately is shunned back to its evil look. He looks around like he is being watched and then he leans in close to me. Our eyes meet and he stares me down. "The Districts betrayed the Capitol!" He hisses, "We had to suffer, watch friends and family leave to a war to never come back, and live in fear that we might be someone picked to go next. We thought that Panem was picture perfect and that nothing could go wrong. But the Rebels ruined that, and tore up our so called picture perfect country. The Capitol wants revenge and only way the Rebels can ever truly feel how we felt when they betrayed us is if we do something that involves you. Which is why you need to come to the winning side!" putting extra emphasis on the winning.

"I will never join the side that uses children as pawns in their war. Or a side that takes no pity in blowing civilians up." His eyes flash and I know he knows that I am referring to our mom. "Even if you are my brother, don't count on me ever joining you with the Capitol. And as long as the Capitol is here, there will always be rebels to fight against them and I will never quit fighting." My voice echoes in the cell and my last words die away.

To my surprise Canyon doesn't snap and defend the Capitol again. Instead he takes a moment to think over my words before he responds, "Mom died because of you."

"What?" I yell. His accusation hurts me just because I do feel partly responsible for her death. But to blame it all on me is outrageous. "You were the one who ran off into the city and she went to go find you!"

He jumps out of his chair, which falls to the floor, "But she went back to the house to go get you! If you would have stayed at the house, she wouldn't have had to search the neighborhood for you and she could still be here alive if it wasn't for you!" he yells at me.

"Even if she was alive Mom would never join the Capitol with you!"

His fist then flies at my face and I try to block it but the guard still has a hold of me and I take a blow to my nose. My eyes start to water and blood begins to pour from my nose. I look at my brother with disgust and spit on him.

Wiping the spit of me he whispers, "I tried to save you," his voice is shaking with anger, "but all you want to do is fight for your stupid rebellion. So that's what you're going to get, a chance to fight." He storms out of the room and signals the guards to release me. I hear a click and the cuffs fall from my hands. The guards then shove me into the cold metal floor and take the chair and table. The door closes behind me and the lights go out.

Even though they have left I still just lay on the ground, my brother's words still ringing in my ear. What did he mean that we were going to have one last chance to fight? Did the Capitol want to brainwash us and then use us to help silence the Rebellion? Or did he mean that we would soon have another reason to start fighting again? Everything my brother has told me doesn't make any sense to me at all.

The thing that bugged me the most wasn't because nothing made sense; it was because I had just seen my brother. When I saw him being dragged away by the Peacekeepers I always thought that when I would finally get to see him again that he would either be dead or have no memory of me at all. So when it did come time to talk to him that it would be the hardest thing for me to do. But I never imagined him fighting for the Capitol at all or even blaming me for my mother's death. I guess I just always assumed that issues with my brother would never be resolved and I was ok with that. The part that is gnawing away at me is the fact that I had one last chance to make amends with myself and my brother. And I just ruined it.

A hissing noise interrupts the silence of my thoughts, which must mean that they are filling the room up with some type of gas. When my brother said that I would have one last chance to fight I finally understood, I would have one last chance to fight for my life. It was a fight where all I had to do was simply switch sides, but I would never do that. I close my eyes choosing and then accepting my fate and wait for death.

I always thought that when the time came for me to die, that I wouldn't go out with a fight in fear of losing my life. Now that everything I truly loved had been taken away from me, my family, Crescent City, and even District 4. Life didn't seem to matter anymore because nothing would ever be the same. The only thing that would remain the same was that the Capitol still owned me. And as long as it was going to be that way and there wasn't a real purpose for me to fight for anymore, I realized that life would never be free or worthwhile for me to live anymore.

Sirens go off in the room, probably meaning that the room had dangerous amounts of fumes in it. Light begins to break the darkness against my eyes and the whine of the siren slowly starts to fade. I feel a rush of warm air across my face, which floods into my nostrils and I instantly smell salt. The falling sensation drugs me over and I go weightless. Then my fall slows and something warm encases my body. A woman screams my name and it sounds familiar. The last thing I feel is someone grasp their hands around me and pull me. I hear the sounds of the ocean and feel calm. I feel my mind slowly let go of the sliver of life I have and everything goes white.

* * *

**A/N**

**i always hated cliffhangers haha except for the fact that this really isn't leaving you hanging with something but whateves:)**

**As i promised i would do a quicky update to make up for my very long absence.**

**Reviews would be freaking awesome negative or positve it all helps me no matter what. But i will try to put up a new chapter by next week. gracias to CinnaXMockingjay for the review. **

**I do have to warn you but my summers have weeks that are either chuck full of events like sports camps vacations family crap and work. so i may have a week where i will update like every other day but then blank out weeks of nothingness so be prepared!**

**Tball66**


	4. Imbroglio

One of my favorite books my mom used to read to me when I was little was "_The Glass Box"_. The story starts out with a King walking down the road. While walking he sees a man being attacked and rushes over to help him. The King defeats the attackers and turns to see that the man he saved is dressed in rags and looks very hungry. The King decides to take advantage of the man and lies to the man, saying that more attackers were going to come for him. The King says that if the man will come to work for him that in return he will protect, feed, and shelter him.

The man agrees in fear of his attackers and goes to live with the King. But the King had deceived the man and forced him his slave and made him live in a glass box. Every day the master would let out the man to farm, clean, and take care of the King's every wish and need. At night the King would lock the man in the glass box and force the man to watch him party with his friends. The King and his friends would eat all of the food that the man had farmed and give him the scraps left over. They would also take the man and bring him into town and throw magnificent parties while the man watched from his glass prison.

Every day for years the man was forced to watch as the King lived in luxury and he, in slavery.

One day the King, in a drunken stupor, was putting the man in the box for the night but forgot to lock it since he was so drunk. The man notices that the King has left it open and the man waits for the King to sleep before he escapes.

The man comes back years later to the King's estate to see what has become of him. He discovers that the King had died because he relied so much on others. The man realizes that he was the true king between the two. He was the one who gave the King everything and something to rule and without him the King was nothing. The man then declares himself a king and then goes on to live with his life, determined to be the king of his own life.

My mother would always tell me that before the war that the districts were like the man in the box serving the Capitol, our "King". And as long as it was going to be that way, the districts would always want fight to be the kings and queens over their own life. The type of life that parents would sacrifice their own just so their kids could be free. It was fight that had taken mine away from me.

My dad was missing but most likely dead, and my mother dead. My mother…. Just thinking of her depresses me. I see her face and her last words to me ring through my thoughts.

"Promise me that you will come back?"

"I promise."

My mom's broken promise echoes through my mind. Like a scream in a canyon, her words slowly fade away till it is just a whisper. As of right now I didn't care what was going on around me. My brother, who I thought was dead, had just told me that there would be worse to come and then for effect dropped me from a ship, then to top it off, he is also blaming me for my mom's death.

There isn't one thing in my life that hasn't been taken away from me. District 4, my parents, Crescent City, and then the cruel fate of bringing my brother back in the picture and finding out that he isn't fighting for our side. Life to me was over. Even if I did decide to let myself live and not drown, what's the point?

Being a fisherman for the rest of my life and also living under the Capitol was not how I wanted to live. Starting a family was out of the question as well, because I wouldn't want my children to live in slavery. And to live with the guilt of starting a new generation of workers for the Capitol was something I could never live with. I knew that it would be better to raise a family in a time of war, rather than in a time of slavery to the Capitol.

All I ever wanted or dreamed of doing was now impossible. The only thing I wanted now was death. But as much as I wanted to die, someone else wanted me to live. I could feel their arms locked around my chest and pulling me through the water, pulling me back to reality.

My eyes flutter open to see wet beautiful light brown hair bobbing up and down from swimming in the water. Finally seeing something familiar I try to shake her hands off of me but they just squeeze harder. I lift up my hand to try and pull her arm away but immediately feel queasy and sick to my stomach. Waiting a second before I move I try one more time but get the same feeling, except even stronger this time.

"You've lost a lot of blood," she says spitting water out of her mouth, "I would stop moving if you don't want to black out."

In a silent agreement I stop struggling and just let her pull me. As she pulls me through the water, I think of her. Even though she was completely soaked she still looked stunning.

The slow motion of the waves and the heat of the sun make my eyes start to droop. I don't fight my tiredness and let it take over me. Only because I know that as long as I'm with Estelle everything will be safe.

My stomach wakes me from my slumber. I immediately smell cooked fish and roll out of the bed I have been placed in. The dark room is small with only a few things in it, a bed and a small drawer with a mirror on top of it. I get up and look in the mirror to check if my nose is broken, but to my surprise it has been bandaged up. A flicker of light hits my eye and in the mirror I see the drawn curtain letting a speck of light in and turn around to open it.

Glancing outside I see that I am in a cottage on the hill. Just below me is a town that has been mutilated with bombs. Rubble is everywhere and no building has been untouched. Each one has either walls or floors that have been torn from its base. Scanning the damage, I immediately look away when I see the vast Oceanside next to the town. Haunted memories and screams fill my head as I remember the last time I was in District 4.

Checking one more time to make sure of where I was I take another look out the window. I soon recognize the town center or what was left of it. The fountain that was in the middle has been completely destroyed, and replaced by a crater filled with water. Some of the buildings have been entirely flattened and replaced by quarry. While others look like they could be blown over with the wind. The only building that looks untouched is the Justice Building. But the thing that horrifies and disgusts me the most are the little pairs of white patrolling the streets, Peacekeepers. Not wanting to see them I look left of me to the northern part of the city where my home should have been.

Instead of neat rows of houses lined along the beach, an entirely new bay of water has claimed the land. The craters from the bombs have opened up new holes in the land for the water to fill. I cringe to think that my mother's grave is there.

When I finally can't look at the damage I shut the curtain, realizing why they were closed in the first place.

The smell of fish dances through the open door again and I walk out the door to find where it is coming from. As I go through the house I notice all of windows facing the city have been covered, while the windows facing any other way have been propped open.

Nearing the end of the hallway I hear the sound of muffled voices. I slowly sneak to the corner and poke my head around to see what is going on. Estelle is sitting at the table with an empty plate and intently watching the television from where the voices are coming from. Deciding it is safe I take a step around the corner.

"Hey thanks for…" She hushes me and points to the counter where a plate of fish waits for me on the counter. Too hungry to care why she doesn't want to talk to me I grab the plate and take the seat next to her. The second the juicy meat hits my mouth I can't stop eating it. I only stop when the sound of my fork hitting the plate announces that I have finished. Estelle turns to look at me and then turns back to the TV which is now showing a list of names.

"If you have seen someone whose name is on this list. Please inform the nearest Peacekeeper of their whereabouts! They are very dangerous criminals who have committed very, very serious war crimes against the Capitol!" one of the reporters says.

Reading the names I know almost all of them, Hugh Blacksmith, Anita Cabree are just a few. But they were definitely not war criminals; they were actually more of heroes. All of them were either generals or people who played a big role in the war. But I guess in the Capitol's eyes they were equivalent to a murderous rapist.

The Capitol anthem plays after the list finally ends and leaves us with a message to meet at the city center at noon dressed nicely. The TV clicks off and I hear power shut off as well. Estelle finally looks at me and lets out a sigh.

"Hey… uhh thanks for pulling me out of the water and also for the fish."

"You would have done the same," she says. "Sorry I didn't wake you up when I started. When I heard the TV turn on I didn't know how long the power would be on so I just started cooking with the stove while I could. They then started showing the executions and I just wanted to watch just to make sure that…" her voice chokes and her blue eyes fill with tears, "none of them were on there." Even though she didn't say who, anybody who had met her, knew that she was talking about her family.

"Were they...?" I don't bother to finish since it there is a possibility that they were killed.

"No, not any of my brothers or my parents so maybe they did get away safely." She says hopefully. "Your dad wasn't on it either."

Relief fills me but as quickly as it came it is replaced by dread. My dad was one of the top Generals in the war and I knew that they wouldn't let him off so easily. Trying not to dwell on bad thoughts I quickly change the subject.

"Good to know. But do you know why they want us to meet at the center at noon?"

"No, not really. All they said was that they had something in store for us."

"Well then in that case I'm not going. The last time the Capitol had a surprise for me it kind of blew up half the town." I joke in an effort to lighten the mood. She smirks and gives a small laugh but it slowly dies away. I don't blame her for not being as upbeat as she normally was.

When I first met Estelle on the way to Crescent City, right after District 4 had been bombed, she was still pretty peppy. She even told me of how sure she was on how we were going to win the war, even if we had taken a major blow to one of our more important districts. And at the DC she was determined to follow the footsteps of her family members by being the best fighter there; which she was. She was also a natural leader and all of us recognized it, even the General over the DC. So when the time was right she and I were chosen to be Assistant to the General.

While we were both leaders over the other kids we spent a lot of time getting to know each other and she became my best friend and sometimes I felt like she was even a little more than that.

But as the war slowly waned away, it took its toll on Estelle and she slowly faded away as well. The determination I saw in her eyes was diminishing. And her normally outspoken self was silenced. Although I guess it would be hard to have an immovable sense of confidence when everything you believed in, worked for, and loved was in danger.

"Do you know how long we have until we need to leave?" I ask.

"We should be leaving soon." She replies.

I get up and go back to the room I was in and look through the drawers until I find a button up shirt to replace my DC uniform that is covered in blood from my nose. When I go out into the hallway, Estelle walks out of the room next to mine in a beautiful crème colored dress. She looked beautiful.

"You look… amazing." I say, trying to not to make it too obvious that I liked her.

"Thanks," she blushes, "you do to."

As we are walking out the door she puts her arm on mine and I escort her to town.

* * *

When we arrive in the center we are ushered into two lines, one for boys and the other for girls. A Peacekeeper than takes our identity and sends us either in front of the Justice building or behind a roped off area, separating the two groups. When the Peacekeeper draws my blood some alarm goes off on the device. He smiles at me wickedly and just says, "Looks like we found him." And then he sends me over to the Justice Building.

I look around for any familiar faces from either District 4 or Crescent City. I see Estelle's light brown hair in the crowd and head for her. Pushing through people I hear them hiss my name to their neighbor. Not too worried about it I keep going through. But the crowd starts to thicken and the whispers begin to be directed towards me.

"What are you doing here?"

"And the day you decide to come back is today. You are gonna be…"

"Does he even know about it?"

Through all the mumbles many people tell me to run away or to hide. Someone even volunteers to kill me.

When I reach Estelle she is obviously distressed. Even if she is a natural leader and is normally the one doing all the talking, this time it was her turn to listen.

"Clayton!" she says when I break through the circle of people around her.

"I don't have a good feeling about being here. Everyone keeps telling me to leave or even kill myself!"

"I've heard the same thing and I think we should leave." I say trying to keep my voice steady. Even though I normally don't give into peer pressure I can tell that the urgency and concern from the people is genuine.

I take her hand and we start to maneuver between everyone. Even though the crowd was trying to help us before by warning us, it seemed like they weren't in the mood to move for us making it even more difficult to escape. An overly happy woman beings to speak and her accented voice flows through the speakers and whatever the Capitol had in store for us has started because the anthem begins to play. My heart begins to beat faster since I know that whatever the crowd was warning us about was going to happen soon. I hear the final notes of the anthem and do my best to run through the crowd. My mind brings up another time when I was running through a crowd, running away from the Peacekeepers for my own life. But this time is different, this time I don't know what I am running from and instead of screams and gunshots all I hear is the silence of the crowd and the overenthusiastic voice in the speakers. Pushing and shoving I keep moving when she says something and I hear a few gasps and whispers begin to start.

Estelle's hand slides from my grip and I turn around to see why. Estelle looks at me in panic and slowly turns to the Justice Building.

"Estelle Gray! Please come up to the stage immediately!"

All of my wishing for the crowd to part finally comes true but instead of making a way out they make a way back to where we started. Estelle slowly begins the walk up to the front steps. I start to die inside because usually when your name is called at a public event in the districts, it's usually for a public hanging or to accept an award or honor. And I definitely know she isn't getting a medal today.

"Come on dear, we haven't got all day!" the woman's voice rings through the air. As Estelle steps up to the lady standing at the microphone I finally see the speaker. It looked like she wanted her outfit to match her voice because she was dressed in a bright blue and green suit, with fabric shooting out the top of her bun, giving her the appearance of a peacock showing off its feathers. "Well by golly I bet your were trying to get one last moment with your boyfriend!" she giggles. "But I guess your little love life shall have to put on hold. Because you my darling have been selected to represent your district for a very special event. But the spotlight you have been just been given shall now be shared as we will now be selecting a boy!" skipping to one of the glass orbs the woman drops her hand in and makes picking up a piece of paper seem very dramatic. Snatching one up and she walks over to the microphone.

While she saunters up to announce who the boy representative is I get a sinking feeling in my gut that it's going to be me. My brother's voice floats through my mind _"…but all you want to do is fight… so that's what you're going to get, a chance to fight." _

"Clayton Jay Astor!"

I jog up to the steps, not because I was excited that I was picked but to hope that it would somehow make everything go faster.

"That's the spirit!" the peacock woman cheers, "Well now, now, let's settle down and find out what exactly we are doing with these two lovebirds! But first let's give your new mayor of District 4 a warm round of applause, Mayor Shields!" she begins to cheer and clap jumping up and down like it's her birthday. But after realizing that no one is joining her she awkwardly stops and steps aside revealing a man who has been standing behind her the whole time. Even though I am standing right next to her I still didn't see our new mayor standing right behind her.

He has a bald head which is drying out from the heat of the day. His face looks like he had run into a wall squishing his nose to his face. Giving you the impression of a walking turtle.

He wobbles up to the microphone and begins to speak in a raspy voice. "Thank you for letting me have the wonderful honor of being your mayor. I am deeply grieved by the war that has led to your previous mayor's death." He pauses to cough.

I know that he's lying. Mayors don't just accidently die when you have the Capitol over you. When the whole district rebels and starts a war. The first one to be blamed is the mayor. And when I say blamed I mean slaughtered.

"But we shall try to not focus on the past so much anymore. Which is why today I bring you the Treason Treaty. A treaty to help maintain the peace we have finally established in our great country of Panem. A treaty to also remind us of the revolt. To remind us of our Dark Days." He pauses and takes a look at the crowd like how a grandparent would over their family. He then pulls out a fresh looking document from his coat pocket and begins to read it.

"_War, terrible war. Widows, orphans, a motherless child. This was the uprising that rocked our land. Thirteen districts rebelled against the country that fed them, loved them, and protected them_." Mayor Shields pauses and takes a deep breath not even giving a look at the people murmuring and crowd becoming restless.

"_Brother turned on brother until nothing remained_." The mayor pauses again and throws me a look as if to tell me that he knows the situation between Canyon and I. "_And then came the peace, hard fought sorely won. The people rose up from the ashes and a new era was born. But freedom has a cost and the traitors were defeated. We swore as a nation we would never know this treason again. And so it was decreed, that each year, the various districts of Panem would offer up in tribute, one young man and woman, to fight to the death in a pageant of honor, courage and sacrifice. The lone victor bathed in riches, would serve as a reminder of our generosity and our forgiveness. This is how we remember our past. This is how we safeguard our future."_ By this time people in the crowd are furious. People cursing the Capitol and others crying out in protest. Some are crying in fear that their children will be sent to fight. The Peacekeepers try to control the people but it's of no use. Even though the crowd is still in a riot Mayor Shields looks up from the paper and continues his speech.

"This treaty will promise us a time of peace while respectfully remembering our past. But the moment you have all been waiting for has already happened, thanks to Miss…" The crowd is now out of control and although I am standing right next to Mayor Shields I can't hear a word he is saying. His brow scrunches and his face grows red with anger, "Silence!" his voice booms from the speakers, overpowering the crowd, stopping protest.

"As I was saying the moment you have been anticipating has happened. Thanks to Miss Miran she has already selected our tributes…" He turns my direction and holds out his hand to me and Estelle. His mouth is moving but I don't hear anything. My world goes silent in disbelief. Disbelief that Canyon was actually telling the truth. Disbelief that I was now supposed to fight at least twenty other kids to the death.

Estelle starts to shake and I see tears rolling down her face. I pull her close to me, so that maybe by holding her closer to me would block out the harsh reality that we were living.

A woman's scream from the crowd pierces my thoughts. Yelling for everyone to storm the stage and hide us away.

The next few moments are a blur and gunshots power through the air. Everyone is screaming and coming towards us but a wall of white forms around us and Estelle and I are shoved through the front doors of the Justice Building. When the doors shut we can still hear the screams of the crowd with the occasional gunshot.

Everything that had just happened to me is running in a haze through my head, which was now trying to comprehend it all. A new treaty has just been introduced to help maintain the Capitol's version of peace but all it did was rally up everyone. Rally everyone up because two of their brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, and friends were going to be in a pageant to the death.

Death. It was the only thing that made sense to me. Because I knew that despite all of our training and lives together, only one of us could maybe come away from this fight alive. And I promised myself that I would do everything I could to make sure that the last one standing would be Estelle.

* * *

**i know im a liar for saying that i will update fast... but as a treat to you i made sure that this next chapter was extra long! and i would also like to credit the italicized words, they are copied from the _Hunger Games _movie and i used it to make my story seem like it is a part of the hunger games stories rather than a spinoff of it. i also believe that suzanne collins work is awesome even though there are a few things that i didn't like that she wrote, but it is still hers and i think that it should be left the way it is, which is why i won't write a story that changes her story in anyway.**

**and i am just uber excited... 5 reviews yay! haha keep reviewing and soon i will be just as excited for 7!**

**but i would like to disclaim my previous comitment to update a lot in the summer because now i realize that it was a bunch of bs. I litterally have something going on every week because i decided to take some summer classes... i know im a nerd but anyways between those and family trips and stuff it will be pretty hectic but don't be alarmed if i don't update for a week. i will finish the story! **

**Tball66**


	5. Arcane

Hundreds of feet in the air Estelle and I drifted slowly over Panem. Through a sea of clouds, our airship made its way to the next district. Since most of the railroads between the districts had been either destroyed or salvaged for metal, the Capitol had sent one of the most luxurious airships to pick up the tributes at each district. At least that's what Miran told us. But we both knew that the railways were perfectly fine.

We both watched the train leave the station with supplies the morning of the Reaping. So why would the Capitol not want us to take the train? I guess they were afraid of the rebels were going to sabotage the train, which had been done many times before, or they were trying to hide something that we might see while on the train.

Because that's how life in Panem was starting to be like. Whatever the Capitol wanted us to see they would let us see and all the other things, they would do everything in their power to make sure that we would never see or hear about confidential and/or potentially hurtful information. If it was as simple as sending an airship or forcing people to change their opinions on the Hunger Games, the Capitol would do it. No matter what they did it always had some type of underlying message to us. And their message to us was that we shouldn't walk into the arena with sorrow, but with pride. Take pride because our government found a "peaceful" way to discipline its people besides a war or televised hangings.

Which was exactly what Estelle and I were doing, hanging on to the rope that would take us away to our "peaceful" death.

The moment the current left our bodies Miran began rambling on about how she was going to be our escort and mentor in the games which was someone who would manage and basically tell us where to go and how to act. She did want to give us a tour of the airship but that it would have to wait till "much, much, much later" since we had a full schedule ahead of us. She did give us a few minutes to wash up since hygiene is a must on her list. But when it felt like I was finally getting a moment to myself, Miran was already knocking on the door chirping to me that the recap was starting.

Opening up the door I see a very beautiful girl and a woman now dressed as a robin. Our little bird Miran led us through the brightly lit hallways and then into a darkly lit room. My whole life I lived pretty well off but I had to admit that this was nothing like I had seen before. The ceiling lights were manipulated to look like you were underwater. Parts of the walls were an aquarium that zigzagged up the walls that were filled with fish that were genetically engineered to glow. The whole impression was a like you were underwater. I didn't know if I should be offended or not since almost everything we had had a very subtle ocean theme. Shell shaped door knobs and pictures of beaches in the hallway. When we asked Miran about it she said that all of it was because she felt very sad that we had to leave a very beautiful home landscape. So she had all of our rooms changed to look like how our rooms might have looked like in District 4. Although it was a slightly stereotypical deed neither Estelle nor I had the heart to tell her that no one in District 4 had their bathtubs coated with sand at the bottom because it reminded them of the ocean. So we just played along to her extreme hospitality. But I honestly don't know how long I can take her little District 4 "slang."

Before the recap starts Miran makes sure that we will never waste a single minute and begins to explain that for the next few days we would be enrolled in some classes for just the two of us to help us train but she doesn't get to far in detail about them before the Anthem cuts her off and the recap begins.

As the announcers starts it off with a few jokes they cut right to the Reapings as if they know that their jokes aren't enough to distract people from the good stuff and start to roll out the clips. But as much as I wanted to see the recap, with each minute passing the want to watch it slowly whittled away like a termite in wood.

Pretty soon the soft leather chairs felt as if I was sitting in an electric chair being electrocuted after seeing each district recap. All of the tributes called to the arena so far were from the DC, and all of them were my friends I had grown up with that I would now have to face in the arena. All of them trained and ready to kill.

But the worst part about the Reapings wasn't the fact that kids were going to kill each other, it was that crowds in each district were cheering and applauding the very notion of it. I started to hate all of these random people that I didn't even know. Why were they so happy about losing the war and as a consequence have to sacrifice their children.

When we finally get to District 4 I sit up with pride because I knew that the people gave the reaction that they were supposed to give.

"As we can see most of the districts are just off the wall for the Hunger Games! But if you thought that everyone was excited for the games well you are very wrong." The announcers over tan face turns grim and the scene changes to District 4.

I jump nearly a foot out of my seat from the crowd screams and applauding. Estelle flashes me the "what the heck is going on" look but ignore her. Focusing back on the TV I keep on watching to what else they have changed about our Reaping.

"That's right everyone, District 4 was absolutely ecstatic for these games! They even rushed to the Justice Building to get one last glimpse of their possible victors." A clip then shows the mob that was rushing towards us. Audio had been inserted to make the yells feel more excited and when the Peacekeepers shot their guns, they shot out fireworks. "Well it seems like the Hunger Games have made a smashing debut in District 4!" The clip replays but this time showing the whole clip with woman screaming to get us. "This District surely shows the support behind the games! Now who are these tributes that are proudly representing this oceanic district? They are-"

"We already know who they are," says Estelle and she turns the TV off.

"But the President has required us to watch it!" protests Miran.

"Sorry Miran but I just don't think it is right to-"

"Waste our time watching this if we already know who the tributes are." I know that she is going to start talking down the Capitol and I have a feeling that Miran wouldn't take it so well so I interrupt. Estelle glares at me but then the realization hits her and she nods her head in agreement with me.

"You are absolutely correct! But I still think that we need to at least watch the last fifteen minutes. So how about I finish talking about the opening ceremonies right now so that you two can have more free time later? It's a win win situation! Or as they might say fin fin in District 4!" Forcing happy laugh for her I try to cover up my obvious annoyance with her made up slang.

I turn the TV back on an hour later, hopefully the recap has finished and moved on to something that will help me block out everything that Miran has just told me. She steps out to check if our dinner is ready and I hope her ideas step out with her too. Dressing up and parading us down the streets of the Capitol is not what the Treason Treaty said. It was as if the Capitol was trying to cover up the fact that they were technically doing child labor/ slaughter. So what better way of covering up their wrongs then to literally cover us tributes in makeup and costumes for display.

We catch the last five minutes of the show which ran through each of the tributes from all the Districts. As each face appears on the screen, I recognize every single one of them, except for two twelve year olds from District 6. Even though I knew that the Games were rigged so that people from the DC would be drawn into the Arena, this had to be the cruelest thing by far.

"They aren't even twelve yet!"

"Do you even know them?" I ask, surprised that Estelle recognized them.

"The boy is Alec and her name is Lyla. Their dad was the Master Commander for the war. They were my neighbors back when I lived in District 13."

"If you lived in District 13 why were you on the ship then?" I ask.

She sighs and continues on, "On the day of the Battle of the Seas, when I first met you, the reason I was on ship that saved you guys was because I was being punished."

"Why would it be a punishment to be sent to the DC?"

"Because it was a forced relocation." Giving her a questionable look she went on. "I had a little bit of a run in with the Master Commander and he… sent my family off into the war and basically forced me into Crescent City." Her face begins to show a little bit of sadness, but as soon as it comes on she looks away.

"I'm so sorry… but why would the Master Commander even do something like that?"

"Because I… I.." her voice cracks, "Well it doesn't really matter, what's been done has been done." She sighs and then stands up. "I think that I'm just going to go to bed. After everything tonight I don't think I'm going to be able eat anything. Night."

"Alright night then." Watching her shut the door I turn my attention back to the TV only to see it shut off, signaling the end of the recap. Getting up I walk over to the door and grab the cold metal shell. But I stop when I hear the soft sobs through the door.

* * *

For the next few days everything seems to fly by. Between our training sessions and talks through what the games were, the only free time I got was when I was locked into my room at night. Which I was assured that it was for "security" reasons. The closer we got to the Capitol the closer everyone was pushed to the edge. Estelle had huge bags under her eyes and I fell asleep whenever I sat down. Even Miran began to be very short tempered and started to put in more and more breaks which she didn't even use to change her outfit.

One morning while we were Estelle and I were taking a break from our training session, we were sitting on the couch waiting for our trainers to come in and yell at us to get back and show them the proper technique on using a sword.

We were laughing about how our trainers expected us to not be able to fight and how on the first day Estelle challenged our head trainer to a fight.

"He was so arrogant when he came into the fighting ring! And he just kept on telling me how it was a good idea to lose a few fights before you know how to win. So when the bell rang I was just so mad about how cocky he was and next thing I know he's knocked out and getting rushed to the infirmary!"

"Did you see all of his other assistants faces! It was like someone had told them that they wouldn't be able to go back to the Capitol!"

"I know right? But…"

The door opens and I wait for the cuss words to fly.

"Oh marvelous! Look out the window we are about to peak the mountain and you will be able to see the Capitol!" Thankful to hear Miran's voice rather than the trainers I head over to the window. Setting my hands on the cool glass, my eyes strain for something to see through the thick clouds that are covering the window. Just as I'm about to go sit back down the glass slowly warms up and the clouds thin out to the silhouette of the mountain. The ship climbs the mountain and I my stomach lurches a little. Gazing at the immense green all over my eyes follow up to the white peak where we are headed. But near the top interrupting the beautiful green collage are craters from bombs. Getting closer I see little workers dressed in red burying something near the peak. Just below them is a massive rebel airship that had been shot down. Approaching the crater, the red workers begin to run away from what they were burying and into some type of pod. Right as the last worker enters the pod an explosive is detonated from their hole. The snow from above begins to avalanche down filling the hole and hiding the ship in a deep coat of snow. But before the ship is covered you can clearly see the painted flag on it indicating that it was from District 13.

I pull Estelle away from the window in hopes that she hasn't seen it. Hugging her I feel the warm tears soak through my shirt. I know that I was too late and that there is nothing I can do but be there for her. I don't try to comfort her by giving her false hope that they may have survived, because if your ship crashed this close to the Capitol it would be a blessing to have died. I try to feel what Estelle might be going through, but I don't think I can pretend to feel what it would be like to see the ship my family was on lying in ruins at the foot of the Capitol.

* * *

A boy stares back at me in the mirror. I still can't believe how much makeup it took to make me look a few years younger. Feeling my face to see if it is really me the stylist slaps my hand. "Don't touch! I've worked hours to craft that dashing face on you. You know, I've always wanted to…" She looks me over, "have a little fun with someone from the districts." Giving me a lustful gloat she puts her brush down and leaves the room. I grab a towel when the door shuts and cover myself to make sure that when Lavania came back all she would see or work on was my face. Rather than her favorite areas.

A light flashes through the window and I walk over to see what it is. Looking down the whole Capitol is laid out before me. The airship is floating over a construction site which Lavania says will be where future tributes will stay, rather in some "_floating metal turtle." _

The whole area is formed around a circle called the City Circle. At one point sits the Presidents Mansion with a street cutting down the middle called the Avenue of Tributes. The light that keeps coming across the window is the spotlight coming from the Presidents Mansion. It flashes at me for a moment and I stumble back from its bright light.

"Can't handle the spotlight honey?"

I didn't even hear Lavania come in but next thing I know she grabs the towel I have on and rips it off and then starts to dress me in some type of costume.

After a lot of unnecessary adjustment to my costume, especially to my lower body, she finally takes a step back and lets me see myself in the mirror.

She has me wearing a bronze chest plate and cuffs that spiral down my arm in wavy motions. Underneath the armor I am wearing a skin tight dark blue spandex modified to look like fish scales. To complete the costume a matching cape and crown. My first overall impression is a fish soldier but I don't have time to complain because Miran comes running in explaining how I am very very late and that we needed to hurry to the lower deck of the airship so that they can lower us down.

Following Miran she begins to coach me on how I need to be polite and wave to the crowd because that is how I would get sponsors for the games. This was really important since sponsors were the people who would send her money to buy me or Estelle item while in the Arena. Miran keeps talking about manners and each one tries to wrap around my head like don't stare at one spot in the crowd to long it's polite to wave to others, smile no one likes a sad face, and she goes on to talk about how her first time in the Capitol was disastrous. And how on her first day she was ridiculed and mocked and…

"Miran how could you have a first day in the Capitol, if you have lived here your whole life?"

"I… I have," her face fills with panic and now I know that something isn't quite right.

"Miran, did you not live in the Capitol before the Dark Days?"

"I… I…" faltering you can tell she is frantically trying to come up with something. "I have always lived here!" Miran's face hardens. "Accusations like that will discourage people from being your sponsor." We turn a corner and she pushes me against the wall with surprising strength. Stands on her toes until her face is right next to mine. "Don't you ever say that to anyone, ever! Not even to your little girlfriend from District 4. It's your fault that she's even here if you would have just joined your brother she could be safe in the Capitol." She hisses. "If you say one word about it ever in the Arena, I will make sure that she knows it was your fault that she is forced into the Arena with you and I will personally make sure you die." She then unlocks a door and pushes me into a dark room and then slams the door behind her.

"Clayton? Is that you?"

"Yeah it's me."

Glad to hear Estelle's voice I hold my hands out, searching in the dark for her. My fingers find hers and I grab onto them like it was the only thing I had left. Standing close to her my eyes slowly adjust to the darkness and I can tell that she has been dressed in a similar costume to mine.

"You ok?" She says.

"Nah I'm fine I just tripped on my cape that's all." Even though we are in the dark, I feel her head turn to look at me. I give her a reassuring hug and it seems to satisfy any doubt that she had before.

A voice comes over the intercom and starts to count down our descent to the chariots.

"Ready?"

"Together."

Holding her hand the platform starts to lower and we are greeted by the boos and cries of the crowd. Squinting from the suddenly bright light a voice booms through the air.

"Here are your District 4 tributes! Clayton Astor and Estelle Grey!"

As my eyes adjust to the scene around me, the huge mass of people below us and through all their screams it all seemed unreal. Unlike how I thought they would react all of the citizens were either booing that we weren't being killed on the spot or cheering that we were being forced to kill each other.

But above all I kept on thinking that everyone here has a secret. Behind each citizen and tribute they had secrets, secrets that they all guarded with their life. Secrets that if they got out to the world they would kill for, which was exactly what Miran would do to me if hers was ever spoken of. Her threat on my life made me know that what she told me was true. I also knew that I had to tell Estelle sometime that it was my fault that she was in this mess because of me. But if I told her my secret would my secret end up killing me?

* * *

**A/N**

**ok all i changed was this note but i am finally back from long travel affairs! and school has come crashing down on me as well! so between ap classes and whatnot i really dont have a lot of time to write this! but i still am going to write it! i have just finished planning out the book so once the games start, updates wil lcome a lot faster! expect it either this week end or about next week!**

**Tball66**


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